Snake gourd – White chickpeas stir fry/ Padavala kai – Channa palya

This is a delicious healthy palya as both main ingredients are rich in nutrients. Channa/ chickpeas; a rich source of plant based protein. It is said that Snake gourd has antipyretic property; it detoxifies body and improves immunity power. It is good for diabetics and for the healthier hair. Try this recipe for the healthy palya.

Ingredients:

Snake gourd – 1 medium (2 cups chopped)

White chickpeas – 1 cup

Tomato - 1

Sambar powder/ Gojjavalakki powder – 1 tsp

Chilli powder – ¼ tsp (as per taste)

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Green chilli – 1 (optional)

Salt – to taste

Mustard – ½ tsp

Channa dal – 1 tsp

Red chilli - 1

Coconut oil/ any cooking oil – 2 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 strand

Asafoetida/ hing – a pinch

Method:

Soak White chickpeas/ Kabuli channa in water for 6-8 hour or overnight. Wash and drain water. Cook in a pressure cooker adding required amount of water and salt to taste. Once done, switch off the heat and allow the pressure to settle down. Meanwhile, wash and chop snake gourd or padavala kai to small pieces of chickpeas size. Chop tomato too. Need not core out or remove seeds if snake gourd is tender. If not, remove seeds before chopping. Now heat a wok/ pan, add oil, mustards, channa dal, and broken red chilli; allow spluttering. Add curry leaves, asafoetida. Add tomato, sauté once. Add chopped snake gourd, turmeric powder, salt(little as added already while cooking chickpeas) and sauté again. Cover the lid and allow cooking on a medium flame without adding water. It will take 5-10 minutes to cook the vegetable. Once done, add cooked chickpeas, sambar powder (I used gojjavalakki powder), chilli powder. Mix well. Allow on low flame for 2 more minutes. Serve with rice and Rasam/ Sambar. It goes well with chapathi as well.